Klara Hitler, born Klara Pölzl in the Austrian village of Weitra in 1860, lived a life defined by the domestic demands of 19th-century Austria-Hungary. As a housewife and mother, she experienced the early loss of four of her six children before her own death at age 47 in 1907, an event that deeply impacted her surviving son, Adolf.
Early Life and Family Marriage
Born to Johann Baptist Pölzl and Johanna Hiedler, Klara began working as a household servant for her relative Alois Hitler in 1876. Following the death of Alois's second wife, Franziska Matzelsberger, the two married on 7 January 1885. The ceremony occurred at the Pommer Inn in Braunau am Inn. Their union produced six children, though Gustav, Ida, Otto, and Edmund died at young ages, leaving only Adolf and Paula to survive into adulthood.
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Following the death of Alois in 1903, Klara moved to Linz with her children to live frugally. In 1906, she identified a breast lump, eventually consulting physician Eduard Bloch in 1907. Despite undergoing a radical mastectomy performed by surgeon Karl Urban, the cancer had metastasized to her pleural tissue. She subsequently endured an experimental chemotherapy regimen involving iodoform, which resulted in paralysis of her throat and extreme pain.
Death and Legacy
Klara Hitler died in Linz on 21 December 1907 due to the toxic side effects of the iodoform treatment. She was buried in Leonding. Her son Adolf maintained a strong attachment to her, later allowing Dr. Bloch to emigrate from Austria to the United States in 1940. In 2012, the tombstone marking her burial plot in the Town Cemetery in Leonding was removed by a descendant of Alois's first wife.
Fast facts
- Born: 1860, Weitra
- Died: 21 December 1907, Linz
- Buried: Leonding
- Occupation: Housewife
- Children who survived to adulthood: Adolf and Paula
- Religion: Catholic Church
- Primary languages: German
Questions readers ask
How many children did Klara Hitler have?
Klara had six children, of whom only Adolf and Paula lived to adulthood.
What caused the death of Klara Hitler?
She died from the toxic side effects of an experimental iodoform treatment for terminal breast cancer.
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